President Donald Trump‘s ally and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell launched a Republican campaign for Minnesota governor on Thursday.
Lindell jumps into the gubernatorial race as the Trump administration and the House Oversight Committee have launched investigations into Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz’s alleged role in what investigators are calling the largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the country.
“I will stand for you as the next governor of the state of Minnesota. I will stand up for you against the rampant fraud under Gov. Governor Walz,” Lindell said while launching his campaign on “Steve Bannon’s War Room” on Lindell’s streaming platform.
Chief among Lindell’s campaign commitments is to “stop the fraud” in Minnesota, followed by his promise to continue deporting illegal immigrants, stop “exploding” property taxes, reform public education, cut fees and taxes, address addiction, improve public safety and secure elections.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT MINNESOTA’S ‘FEEDING OUR FUTURE’ FRAUD AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S LATEST CRACKDOWN
“Minnesota deserves a governor who will stand against all fraud, and will go after anyone who steals our tax dollars. No one is above the law,” Lindell said on his freshly launched campaign website.
Democrats, however, are gearing up to defeat him.
“Mike Lindell is the latest extreme, out of touch candidate to jump into what is becoming a more chaotic and dangerous race to the far-right by the day — and his entrance into the race is a bitter pill-ow for Minnesota Republicans to swallow,” said Democratic Governors Association spokesperson Izzi Levy in a statement shortly after Lindell filed paperwork to run for governor.
“Minnesotans can rest easy that we’re going to put to bed any dreams Lindell has of bringing his extreme agenda to the governor’s office.”
Lindell faced a slew of legal scrutiny for falsely claiming that Trump won the 2020 presidential election. Earlier this year, a federal jury in Colorado found Lindell liable for defamation and ordered him to pay millions in damages to a former Dominion Voting Systems employee.
The Republican joins a crowded primary field of candidates vying for the chance to challenge Walz next year, including Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, 2022 Republican nominee Scott Jensen and state Rep. Kristin Robbins.
Walz is running for a third term as Minnesota governor next year. He was tapped as former Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate last year, ushering his notoriety onto the national political stage.
